Prior to the adoption of its name for a U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

, Arizona was traditionally defined as the region south of the Gila River

Gila River

The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...

 to the present day Mexican border, and east of the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 on the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 border to the Rio Grande

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 river, east of the present day Mesilla, New Mexico

Mesilla, New Mexico

Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...

. It encompasses that part of the present-day states of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 and New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 transferred from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to the United States in the Gadsden Purchase

Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...

 of 1853. Mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 and ranch

Ranch

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

ing were the primary occupations of traditional Arizona's inhabitants, though growing citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

 fruits had long been occurring in Tucson.

Pre Civil War

Socio-politically, some of the founders of Arizona were from areas which were once the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

, though many were from the area's heartland around Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

, settlers who had flocked to the region during the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

 of the 1840s. They maintained their eastern links via Mesilla, on traditional Arizona's border with Texas, to San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. Most others were from elsewhere in the United States of America, as opposed to the Mexican citizens from Sonora and settlers from other settlements of the Midwest. Texas was the lifeline for Arizona, but only until California was established as a U.S. state, meaning Arizona had access to two separate lines of communications and food for frontier settlements. The main line was the Butterfield Overland Mail

Butterfield Overland Mail

The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...

 company, which ran through southern Arizona. Traditional Arizona was never part of William Walker

William Walker

William Walker may refer to:* William Walker , sometime chief of the Wyandot Nation in Ohio and Kansas* William Walker * William Walker , an early governor of British Guiana...

's Republic of Sonora

Republic of Sonora

The Republic of Sonora was a federal republic composed of two states: Baja California and Sonora....

, as it was created in January 1854, a year after the Gadsden Purchase

Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...

 which put traditional Arizona under United States contol.

Civil War

The closure of the mail line was one of the main reasons Arizona would secede from the Union and petition to join the Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

, one other main concern for the creation of Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory (CSA)

The Territory of Arizona was a territory claimed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north including parts of the modern states of New Mexico and Arizona. Its...

 was the problem of constant Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 attacks in Arizona's southern frontier. Arizonans were incensed by the fact that there were not sufficient U.S. soldiers in the region to protect them from attack. The aim of becoming a separate American territory was realized after the Battle of Mesilla

Battle of Mesilla

The First Battle of Mesilla, fought on July 25, 1861 at Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, was an engagement between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Confederate victory and led directly to the official establishing of a Confederate Arizona...

 when future governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

, John R. Baylor defeated the Union garrison

Garrison

Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....

 of Fort Fillmore

Fort Fillmore

Fort Fillmore was a fortification established by Col Edwin Vose Sumner in September of 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily to protect settlers and traders traveling to California. Travelers in the Westward Migration were under constant threat from Indian attack, and a network of...

 with help from Arizonan militia. Mesilla and Tucson would become important towns for the Confederate war effort in the region. Tucson was an old Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 presidio

Presidio

A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...

, protected by high adobe walls and had already been the scene of several Apache battles

Second Battle of Tucson

The Second Battle of Tucson or the May Day Attack was a battle in Tucson, Arizona, and the neighboring pueblo. It occurred during the Mexican Apache Wars on May 1, 1782, between a small garrison of Spanish soldiers and hundreds of Apache warriors....

 in the past. Tucson was also the largest settlement in Southern Arizona at the time and had already considered secession as far back as 1859, when Tucson citizens and Mesilla citizens petitioned the U.S. government for the creation of a Union Arizona territory, with this request being denied. Despite Tucson's presidio walls, the fortress had no garrison at the time of secession and therefore was an open city at first until the creation of a small militia force. Tubac

Tubac, Arizona

Tubac is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 949 at the 2000 census. The place name Tubac is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name, which translates into English as "rotten". The original O'odham name is written...

, to the south of Tucson was another old Spanish presidio. Tucson's militia rescued the Tubacans during the Siege of Tubac

Siege of Tubac

The Siege of Tubac was a siege of the Apache Wars, between settlers and militia of Confederate Arizona and Chiricahua Apaches. The battle took place at Tubac in the present day southern Arizona...

 in spring of 1861 under the command of Captain Granville Henderson Oury

Granville Henderson Oury

Granville Henderson Oury was a nineteenth century American politician, lawyer, judge, soldier and miner.-Early life and career:...

. After John R. Baylor established himself as Governor of Arizona, two district courts were created. The Confederates declared Mesilla the capital and home of the first district court, due to its geographical location, close to Texas and not beyond the vast stretch of desert that lies beyond Tucson and Mesilla. Tucson was home of the second district court. Not long after the official creation of Confederate Arizona in early 1862, Texan and Arizonan rebels defeated a Union cavalry patrol at the Battle of Canada Alamosa

Battle of Canada Alamosa

The Battle of Canada Alamosa was a skirmish of the American Civil War on the late evening and morning of September 24 and 25, 1861. Several small battles occurred in Confederate Arizona near the border with Union New Mexico Territory, this one being the largest.-Background:The battle occurred about...

.

When Confederate General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Henry Hopkins Sibley

Henry Hopkins Sibley

Henry Hopkins Sibley was a brigadier general during the American Civil War, leading the Confederate States Army in the New Mexico Territory. His attempt to gain control of trails to California was defeated at the Battle of Glorieta Pass...

 began his New Mexico Campaign

New Mexico Campaign

The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the...

 to capture Union New Mexico, north of the 34th parallel, he dispatched a company

Company A, Arizona Rangers

Company A, Arizona Rangers was one of the Confederate military units raised in the Confederate Arizona Territory.- Origin of the Arizona Rangers :...

 of mounted Arizona militia and Texas Mounted Rifles to hold Tucson. They were commanded by Captain Sherod Hunter

Sherod Hunter

Sherod Hunter was the commander of the Confederate unit operating against Union Army forces in present day Arizona during the American Civil War...

 and composed of about seventy-five men. General Sibley went on to fight the Battle of Valverde

Battle of Valverde

The Battle of Valverde, or the Battle of Valverde Ford from February 20 to February 21, 1862, was fought near the town of Valverde at a ford of Valverde Creek in Confederate Arizona, in what is today the state of New Mexico. It was a major Confederate success in the New Mexico Campaign of the...

, north of Mesilla. At Confederate Arizona's border with Union New Mexico, several other engagements were fought as well. Ultimately his army, comprising many Arizona militia, with supplies scarce in the region, won a tactical victory

Tactical victory

A tactical victory may refer to a victory that results in the completion of a tactical objective as part of an operation or a victory where the losses of the defeated outweigh those of the victor.-Concepts:...

 at the Battle of Glorieta Pass

Battle of Glorieta Pass

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...

, but was forced to withdraw due to the loss of provisions. In the meantime, the region suffered from the worst Apache conflict in the American history of the area. In the early 1860s, Mangas Coloradas

Mangas Coloradas

Mangas Coloradas, or Dasoda-hae , was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico...

 and Cochise

Cochise

Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...

 led thousands of Apache warriors in several different battles. Apaches attacked

Battle of Pinos Altos

The Battle of Pinos Altos was a military action of the Apache Wars. It was fought on September 27, 1861 between settlers of Pinos Altos mining town, the Confederate Arizona Guards, and Apache warriors. The town is located about seven miles north of the present day Silver City, New...

 the Pinos Altos mining town in traditional Arizona, one of the major engagements between rebel Arizona militia and Apache warriors. Placito was also attacked

Battle of Placito

The Battle of Placito or Battle of the Placito was an engagement between ethnic Mexican settlers, Confederate soldiers and Apache warriors. It took place at the now abandoned village of Placito in Confederate Arizona...

, again Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 troops and Arizona militia successfully warded off the Apaches. After the failure of the New Mexico Campaign, Confederate Arizona's days were drawing to an end. Union forces advanced south from Fort Union and the California Column

California Column

The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...

 invaded Arizona from the west. The Californians under Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 James H. Carleton captured the Confederate Fort Yuma

Fort Yuma

Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...

 on traditional Arizona's side of the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

. No fight occurred as the rebels' cavalry garrison retreated into Mexico before Colonel Carleton's arrival. The Californians then moved on, using the old Butterfield Mail route as their path. Tucson's garrison was then tasked with delaying the Union invasion from the west. The garrison burnt several hay stations, which were actually former mail stations, abandoned before the war.

Californians and Confederates under Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 John W. Swilling fought the small Battle of Stanwix Station. Gradually, Union pickets made their way to the Pima Villages. A force of eight Federal troops were captured there by the Confederates without conflict. Before the Californian invasion, the Union had sent spies into the region, with the mission of procurinf supplies of food and hay for the California Column. The supplies were stored in the abandoned Butterfield Mail stations, with one cache was in the Pima Villages. Once Carleton's main body reached the Pima Villages, they discovered that their much needed food had been taken by Confederate forces and resold to the Pima

Pima

The Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham and the Hia C-ed O'odham...

s. Having gone too far to turn back, the Californians advanced on Tucson. Confederate pickets were waiting for the Union advance at Picacho Peak, their mission was to wait for the California Column and upon sighting, return to Tucson to alert Captain Sherod Hunter and his men. An advance Union cavalry patrol discovered the rebel camp at Picacho Peak and attacked. The Battle of Picacho Peak was fought and the Union cavalry retreated, back to their main body. At this time, Tucson was at the verge of falling, with no Confederate reinforcements having arrived in Tucson. Sherod Hunter, with only a company and some Tucson militia was facing a Union army of over 2,000. As victory was impossible, most of the garrison withdrew just before the Capture of Tucson

Capture of Tucson (1862)

The Capture of Tucson was a United States attack on Tucson in Confederate Arizona on May 20, 1862. A Union force of 2,000 took the city from ten Tucson militiamen without a shot fired.-Background:...

. A squad of Confederate troops were ordered to remain behind, under command of a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. These men narrowly escaped the Union advance on the city. The lieutenant later reported that the Californians surrounded Tucson and then launched a full attack with infantry and cavalry, fulling expecting to fight a battle. The Union troops entered the town as the column's band played Yankee Doodle

Yankee Doodle

"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...

. The rebels almost put up a fight but were dissuaded by an unknown Tucson woman. Tucson fell, so the Union advanced further south along the former mail route. In May, a foraging party of Sherod Hunter's company fought two engagements

Battle of Dragoon Springs

The First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of Confederate dragoons, of Governor John R. Baylor's Company A, Arizona Rangers, and a band of Apache warriors during the American Civil War...

 with Apaches in the Dragoon Mountains

Dragoon Mountains

Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox.- Geography :...

 of traditional Arizona. The Union forces made it to Mowry, Arizona and arrested the former United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Lieutenant Sylvester Mowry

Sylvester Mowry

Sylvester Mowry was an American best known as a pioneer of Arizona and the founder of Mowry, Arizona. He also served as an officer in the United States Army and was arrested as a traitor during the American Civil War....

 at his mining camp.

The former lieutenant and Arizona Confederate sympathizer was charged with selling lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 to rebels for use of ammunition. He was sent west and jailed in Yuma Territorial Prison

Yuma Territorial Prison

The Yuma Territorial Prison was a prison in the Arizona Territory of the United States and now in present day Yuma, Arizona. The Territorial Prison is one of the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites on the National Register of Historic Places in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.The site is...

 from July 2, 1862 to November 9. He was released after a trip to Yuma's courthouse. In his defence he talked about the basic American principles of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

, after the judge heard this Mowry was released. Many Arizonans at the time felt the same as Lieutenant Mowry. They felt that eastern New Mexico Territory

New Mexico Territory

thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 was a place of great American progress on the frontier while the southwestern area, known as Arizona, was a war zone, unsuitable for life without contact with the east and protection against Apaches. Such was truly the case, Lieutenant Mowry's mine was destroyed by Apaches sometime after his arrest. The Californians advanced further, they occupied southern Arizona's forts and left garrisons behind, including one at Tucson. Once in Apache Pass

Apache Pass

Apache Pass is a historic passage in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains, approximately 32 km E-SE of Willcox, Arizona.-Apache Spring:...

 some of Carleton's men were ambushed by Apaches who were led by Cochise, Mangas Coloradas and Geronimo

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...

. They fought the Battle of Apache Pass

Battle of Apache Pass

The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforce New Mexico's Union army...

 in mid June 1862 and won. Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie

Fort Bowie was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona.Fort Bowie was established in 1862 after a series of engagements between the U.S. Military and the Chiricahua Apaches. The most violent of which was the...

 was established as result, to protect settlers against hostile native Americans and to protect the nearby Butterfield Overland Mail station. Soon after the battle in Apache Pass, Mesilla fell without bloodshed and Confederate Arizona was at an end. The Union created their own Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 in 1863, with Tucson as the capital but excluded Mesilla and its surroundings. This meant Arizona no longer bordered Texas and the Arizonans of Mesilla, Pinos Altos and other towns were forced to remain New Mexican citizens.

See also

• Arizona Territory
  Arizona Territory
  The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
  
  
• Confederate Arizona
• Republic of Sonora
  Republic of Sonora
  The Republic of Sonora was a federal republic composed of two states: Baja California and Sonora....
  
  
• Apache Wars
  Apache Wars
  The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...